Electric bicycle riders must now be at least 16 years of age in Winnetka to ride independently, under new rules passed by village trustees.
Trustees unanimously approved new regulations for electric bicycles on Tuesday, October 7, completing a slate of restrictions the village has imposed on these types of electric motor-driven vehicles in recent weeks.
Riders of Class 1 and 2 e-bikes – which top out at 20 miles per hour – must be 16 years of age or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Class 3 bikes, which can get up to 28 miles per hour, are already regulated under state law. Riders must be at least 16 to use such a vehicle at all, although the Winnetka ordinance includes language allowing underage individuals to ride as passengers.
The ordinance includes an amendment to bicycle regulations codifying a ban on riding electric or manual bikes in the village’s business district, though users of both vehicles will be allowed to disembark and “walk” their bikes on business district sidewalks. Electric bicycles cannot be ridden on sidewalks, per state law.
The ordinance also includes language requiring riders to wear a helmet and bars any electric bike alterations increasing the vehicle’s speed, reflecting a concern raised by Winnetka Police Chief Brian O’Connell last month.
O’Connell indicated that Winnetka’s regulations would allow for electric bicycles to be ridden up and down the Green Bay Trail, which runs parallel to Metra’s Union Pacific North line through several North Shore suburbs.
“People use the Green Bay Trail and want to travel south to north, all the way up to Highland Park and back down to Evanston, and we are making that allowance here tonight,” O’Connell said.
Union Pacific owns the Green Bay Trail property but leases it to the municipalities it crosses through, giving suburbs like Winnetka regulatory authority over the paved path.
Trustee Rob Apatoff expressed his support for the inclusion of the helmet rule.
“I appreciate you looked at this hard and found what I think is a pretty balanced measure,” he told O’Connell.
The village’s electric bicycle regulations will not apply to Winnetka Park District properties, after Parks Board President Elise Gibson requested village trustees amend the ordinance’s language to focus on village-owned properties.
Park District Executive Director Shannon Nazzal said Wednesday the Parks board is planning on reviewing its bicycle and electric vehicle regulations to bring Winnetka Parks into compliance with local, state and federal laws.
Gibson indicated in September she wanted the park district to be “at least equal” to the village in terms of e-vehicle regulation.
Winnetka is one of many Chicago-area municipalities that have moved to restrict e-bike usage in recent months, amid widespread concerns about reckless e-bike usage by young people.
Trustees passed an ordinance last month requiring e-scooter riders be at least 18 years old and possess a driver’s license, and barred those vehicles from village bike paths, parks and commercial areas.
That ordinance barred e-scooters from village parks, bike paths, and the Green Bay Trail alongside other “electric motor-driven vehicles,” but not electric bicycles.
Village staff had originally planned to regulate all electric motor-driven vehicles in a single ordinance, but created a separate set of rules for electric bicycles after some residents and trustees expressed concern about placing undue restrictions on the slower, pedal-driven vehicles, like requiring a driver’s license to operate an electric bicycle.
Joshua Irvine is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.